By AUSTIN FAIR

As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally released guidelines and date for by-elections in the states, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State may not find it difficult to select a suitable candidate to represent it in the vacant Imo North Senatorial seat.

This is because the party already has a near-consensus candidate as the success pendulum swings the way of Chief Emmanuel Okewulonu (Ikeoha Gburugburu), the man everybody is tipping to clinch the ticket for obvious reasons.

The Okigwe Senatorial zone is due for the replacement of the late Benjamin Uwajumogu who died some months back and everybody is rooting for the Ikeoha Gburugburu based on his personality and philanthropic gestures.

Although the zone has always been represented at the Senate, the general impression and view is that the people of Okigwe senatorial zone have not been lucky to enjoy the dividends of democracy in the past eight years and therefore see the emergence of man of the Ikeoha Gburugburu’s standing as a timely one.

“We only know that people had been sworn-in as legislators, yet the people of Okigwe who voted them in have never felt their presence there. This time we have decided to appeal to someone who uses his personal wealth for the upkeep of the youths, the elderly and the widows to represent us,” Remigius Okorie, an influential son of the community, said.

It was also gathered that the elites, traditional rulers as well the entire people of the constituency appealed to the retired Customs officer who is now into private business to accept the request to stand in for them at the Senate.

Chief Emmanuel (Ikeoha Gburugburu), whose philanthropic gestures manifested right from his secondary school days at the Community Secondary School, Ikenazizi 1979 set, when he offered scholarship to a bereaved member’s son up to University level, is fondly called ‘husband of the widows’ because he caters for all of them in the Obowo LGA, where he comes from and by extension, the entire constituency.

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